Barack Obama reveals what he thinks about Malia dropping her last name professionally

Barack Obama has seemingly applauded his 'very stubborn' daughter for dropping her last name professionally as she forges her own career and tries to shake off the nepotism baby stigma. 

Malia Obama, 26, was met with a wave of criticism when she used the pseudonym Malia Ann during her directorial debut at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year.

Now, her father has revealed that she wanted people to watch her short film 'The Heart', which she worked on with Donald Glover, without instantly associating her with the Obama family.

Barack, speaking Tuesday on The Pivot podcast, says he warned Malia that people would still know who she was even if she dropped her last name, but claims both she and her younger sister Sasha, 23, 'go out of their way to not try to leverage' their familial status.

'The challenge for us is letting us give them any help at all,' he told host Ryan Clark. 'I mean they're very sensitive about this stuff. They're very stubborn about it.'

Malia used her middle name 'Ann' instead of her surname in the credits for her first film, but her father says he knew that would not keep people linking her to him and his wife Michelle.

'I was all like, "You do know they'll know who you are,"' Barack, 63, shared.

'And she's all like, "You know what? I want them to watch it that first time and not in any way have that association".'

The former president explained that he will 'be a dad' and 'brag a little bit' about his daughters' successes, but also has tried to keep their lives private as much as possible.

'Growing up, the press was pretty good,' Barack recalled, explaining how he 'made a deal' with the White House press corps that they could follow him around, speak to him and 'do whatever they need to do' as long as they agreed to one rule.

'Leave my children alone. Because they have the right to grow up. They didn't choose this,' he said. 'Let them grow up.'

Barack said the press did respect his and Michelle's wishes, but now that the girls are older they are battling 'paparazzi stuff'.

'It drives them nuts. Their attitude is "we're not looking for all that",' he said of his daughters, adding: 'So, they're grounded.'

Malia received criticism over her attempt to separate herself from the Obama name when the film debuted earlier this year, with many social media users branding her a 'nepo baby'. 

'Obama's daughter trying to sneak past nepo baby discourse by not using her last name. Bro you are Obama's daughter,' one X user wrote at the time.

They added: 'Like if you wanna be a filmmaker that's cool but we all know who you are, you're Obama's daughter. You can't hide that.'

'Calling yourself "Malia Ann" is not going to avert any Nepo Baby criticisms, Miss Former First Daughter,' another said. 

But one X user pointed out the paradox, saying: 'So they can't get ahead using their name but if they try to get ahead on their own merits they'll be called out on pretending? Brilliant logic.'

Another said: 'I'm so proud of Malia. I noticed she's also going by her middle name. It's amazing to see people create their own lane. I'm sure she will be a great storyteller.'

'I salute her for her work. And not capitalizing on her last name. Go Malia. Hope you win a prize,' echoed another.

Even actress Whoopi Goldberg - whose real name is Caryn Elaine Johnson - rushed to Malia's defense.

'Apparently some folks online are criticizing her for it, claiming everyone knows she's an Obama, so it's pointless to hide it,' Goldberg told her talk show The View in February.

'If she knows she's an Obama, why do you care? Why do you care what she calls herself? If she wanted to call herself Jeanette MacDonald, she has the right to! If I can be Whoopi Goldberg, she can be whoever the hell she wants to be!'

The former first daughter wrote and directed 'The Heart', a short film about the relationship between a mother and her son.

It was her first film to appear at Sundance after she interned on HBO's Girls and worked for Harvey Weinstein's production company.

Since the Obamas left the White House in 2017, Malia and her younger sister Sasha have kept a relatively low profile. 

Both attended college - Malia to Harvard and Sasha to the University of Michigan - and have gone on to start their own careers. 

Malia started off as an intern on Halle Berry's CBS sci-fi series, Extant, when she was just 15, and then went on to intern on HBO's Girls when she was 17. 

She also won an internship for Harvey Weinstein's production company when she was 19, in the months before the sex abuse scandal broke in 2017.

She then worked as a staff writer on Donald Glover's Amazon Prime series, Swarm. 

Glover said to Vanity Fair in 2022: 'She's just like, an amazingly talented person. She's really focused, and she's working really hard. 

'I feel like she's just somebody who's gonna have really good things coming soon. Her writing style is great.'